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BEADS OF SWEAT mixed with tears drip down her face as she leans onto a tree, her breathing erratic. Tyreese turns around, his eyes running over her pale face; she looks sick and weak. "How much further?" Lizzie quietly asks, walking up to Tyreese. Aria sighs lowly before pushing herself off the tree, walking behind them.
"Farther — come on." Mika grabs Aria's hand in support, sending the older female a tight-lipped smile.
"You're going to be okay." Aria nods, swallowing harshly. Aria isn't worried about herself, she's worried about her family; her group. All she can think about is if they're okay or not and it's tearing her apart because she doesn't know. She doesn't know if they're dead or alive, that's the worst part.
"Is everybody dead?" Lizzie asks, the pre-teen full of questions. Aria weakly shrugs her shoulders, pulling her red bandana out of her pocket and wiping her face with it. She's not sure of anything anymore. She was sure the prison was going to be their home — look what happened.
♚ ♛
The wind howls through the eery, dark woods as Aria leans against a log, one of her arms wrapped around a scared Mika. The orange flames of the fire illuminate her face and she stretches her legs out, her body drained. Just as she begins to drift off to sleep, a baby's cry fills the silent air and Aria sighs lowly, pulling her arm from around Mika. As Tyreese picks the baby up, she continues to cry and Aria motions for him to give the baby to her, her arms outstretched. Tyreese lays Judith into her arms and Aria grabs the baby's blanket, wrapping it around her. Gently pulling the bottle out of Lizzie's hand, Judith begins to suck on the bottle.
Leaves rustle and Aria gently stands to her feet, clutching the baby tighter. Right now, her motherly instincts are on full gear and her only priority right now is these kids and Tyreese. "That way."
♚ ♛
Stepping over the log in her path, Aria clutches her knife tightly as she looks around for any source of food the small group may like. Sighing sadly, she sits down on the log, drowsiness consuming her. She hasn't seen no rabbit or squirrel, Daryl's usually the one that tracks the animals and Aria kills them. Pulling the rock out of her jacket, she bites her lip before closing her eyes. Please be okay. A lone gunshot fires through the woods and Aria lets out a few profanities before jumping to her feet, stuffing the rock back into her pocket.
Running her way through the woods, thorns and branches pierce her skin as the wind whistles in her ears. Her hair flies back and her hand clutches her gun tightly. Making it to a clearing, she groans, her free hand clenched in a fish. Turning her head, she sees a man sobbing and she gently walks forward, clearing her throat. "Hello — hi, have you seen my friends? Um, there's this big buff dude, two little girls and a baby." She asks and he looks up at her, tears pooling in his eyes.
"They're on the tracks. Keep them close to you, you can lose them in an heartbeat." Aria gulps, nodding slowly. She knows you can lose people in a heartbeat, that's what happened to her.
Off in the distance, Aria spots the small group and she lets out a breath of relief. "Ty!" She yells, before jogging forward, her breathing quick. The two friends hug and he looks down at her.
"Thought we lost you." Aria chuckles lowly, shaking her head. Peeking over his shoulder, her mouth falls open and a smile crosses her face as she looks into the eyes of the woman who's like a mom.
"Carol?" She whispers before rushing forward, her arms gently wrapping around the older woman's torso.
Carol rubs Aria's back, a small smile set on her face. Aria backs away and Carol tilts her head to the side, a questioning look in her eyes.
"Where's Daryl? Y'all are always together." Aria frowns, lowering her gaze to the ground.
"I don't know." Carol nods slowly, setting her hand on Aria's shoulder. "It's Daryl. He's okay."
A U T H O R i love carol and aria's relationship.
also, aria is the biggest non-mother out there and i love her for that. (:
